Futures higher in 2014's first full trading week

Published: January 6, 2014 8:52 AM

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NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock futures are running higher in the first full week of trading this year, a week that will give markets a peek at the thinking of the Fed during its last policy meeting and also the final monthly jobs report of 2013.

KEEPING SCORE: Dow Jones industrial futures are up 38 points to 16,426. S&P futures have gained less than a point to 1,827.50. Nasdaq futures are up 3.5 points to 3,535.

HOSTILE HABERDASHER: Men's Wearhouse is going hostile in its takeover bid for Jos. A. Bank Clothiers. A $1.61 billion bid announced early Monday is just the latest volley and comes four months after Jos. A. Bank made its own takeover bid for its larger rival. Men's Wearhouse rejected the offer and bid for Jos. A. Bank. After failing to reach a deal, Men's Wearhouse is going directly to Jos. A. Bank shareholders. Shares of both companies are up more than 5 percent before the opening bell Monday.

INDICATORS: The Commerce Department reports on orders placed with U.S. factories in November. Economists believe that orders rose 1.7 percent compared with October, according to a survey by FactSet. Orders declined 0.5 percent in October. And the Institute for Supply Management reports on growth at U.S. services firms in December. Economists forecast that the index rose to 54.5 in December, according to a survey by FactSet. That would be up from 53.9 in the previous month. Any reading above 50 indicates growth. The ISM is a trade group of purchasing managers.

OVER THERE: World markets were also mixed Monday, ahead of data to be released from the U.S. and China that may reveal the pace of growth for the world's top two economies. In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 dipped 0.2 percent to 6,717.22 while Germany's DAX shed 0.2 percent to 9,415.22. France's CAC-40 was almost flat at 4,248.29. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.9 percent to 2,043.01, extending losses from last week. Tokyo's Nikkei shed 2.4 percent to 15.908.88 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.6 percent to 22,684.15.

TECH TIME: The biggest tech show in the Americas opens Monday in Las Vegas. At the International CES, look for sharper TVs, bigger phones, PCs that operate more like tablets and more motion-sensing technologies meant to free users from the keyboard.

COMING UP: The minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee will be released on Wednesday and will offer the first peek at the Fed's thinking after it began winding down its monthly $85 billion bond-buying program. The big show, however, opens Friday when the Labor Department releases the jobs report for December. That's going to have a big influence on the Fed's decision as to whether it will continue tapering its economic stimulus, or allow a $10 billion trim to its bond-buying program, announced last month, to stand for a while.